Your thoughts on a cliff-hanger end for a comic

[carloswebcomic]

When people read a comic they are investing their time on it.
Now, I'm no economist (it would make me physically ill if I were to be one) but I'm pretty certain that the whole point of investing in something is to get a return on it.
Closure is pretty important. Sure, it may feel more artistic and clever to end something without closure, but readers may want to see a return on that investment they made.

PS.- Woops! I replied to the wrong person!

[acealmansoori]

@carloswebcomic That's true, it wouldn't be fair to the readers. Can some cliffhangers be a good way of ending a short comic? Because I don't want to end end it, I want to pick it up later on. When im less busy. I'm already at the point of im done world creating. I don't want to lose the readers by closing it, y'know. ;-; Sorry i'm pretty confused over the ending.

[heterodont]

If you still want to keep working on it, maybe you can just tell your readers that you'll be putting in on an indefinite hiatus?? I'm sure they'll be understanding considering your situation. However, if you feel like you wouldn't be able to get back to working on it any time soon, then it's really up to you.

And open ending is pretty much what it says. It's not quite a cliffhanger because they normally don't happen abruptly in the middle of a scene, but it's where the conflicts and/or storylines aren't wrapped up entirely, allowing the reader to make their own interpretations of what happened to the characters within the story.

[acealmansoori]

it clears up a bit, and I guess I was going for a bit of both a cliffhanger and an open ending. Thank you Heterodont.

[Aloredd]

for me it really depends on the feeling i get. I've read cliffhanger stories that kind of leave a bitter taste since it either didn't end well or left too many unanswered questions or somesuch thing. I've also read some where it leaves me feeling satisfied despite being unsatisfying. As in, its a good place to end (not during the middle of a fight scene, dialogue, a short journey etc), there aren't any super important unanswered questions, it gives enough that I can guess or imagine how the rest goes, or not right before/after a major character death. But despite being a satisfying ending, I want more of the story.

Ending right before a battle sounds like a good place to me, because it leaves it up to my imagination, which (without reading it) says that the main characters survive/win the battle and make it home safely alive and relatively unharmed. I like endings like that though, and ending it before the battle lets me add that ending myself.

However, Ive read a story where the characters do make it home safely and the next stage of their adventure is just starting and then it ends. I was fine with that ending, until I found out years later that a mini story was made that involves one of the characters (my favorite one too) being killed by a nobody (having been captured and tortured to death by an unnamed background character) ....that left a sour taste in my mouth and made me kind of leery of the happy endings cliff hangers. Anymore I tend to gravitate towards the neutral endings that could go either way based on the readers imagination

[scythe]

When you say ending it, you mean ending it ending it? As in, no more story to come at all?

[Nio_Kasgami]

hum I can say that cliffhanger depends
they are likes jokes...you need to put them in the RIGHT moment...so think likes this :

1. Does this Cliffhanger is appropriate to the story?
2. Do this Cliffhanger is necessary?

if they fullfill both they you can input them but think never abuse of them you will anger your reader....I do that often but this not intentionnal xD

[scythe]

Almost all my pages end with a 'mini-cliffhanger', and some of my scenes too. I view them more as 'page turners.'

For me a real cliffhanger is a question unanswered, or a reveal left in the dark. This kind of thing is fine between chapters, but I don't think stories should completely end on them. That would be unfair to the reader. Stories that don't end illicit very negative emotions in humans. And while negative emotions can be important for impact, I don't think you want people coming away from yours with that being the main take away.

I think for endings, ambiguity is fine as long as it fits with the story and the character. To take a literal example, imagine a story which ends with a character standing on top of a cliff. We know he's struggled with a huge dilemma throughout the story, and you leave it at that. The reader is left to make up their own mind whether or not he jumped. To me, that's not a cliffhanger. Just a tense, ambiguous ending.

If however the ending was, he does jump and we see another character flying in on a dragon in an attempt to catch them, then the story ends just as the person is reaching out their hand, that would leave most reader's blood boiling, especially if they've invested a decent amount of time and emotion into the story.

[PurpleGround]

Almost all my pages end with a 'mini-cliffhanger', and some of my scenes too. I view them more as 'page turners.'

HAH! Same here.

But as for cliff hanger story ending... ermm... Well, when the story ends, people may look forward to a continuation of the story if it is good. A cliff hanger probably would raise hype (Big one probably) for the next one. But if people started complaining the pace is slow, or getting stale or bored. I figure its best to end it right there with proper closure. For me, when I read something, I hope everything ends well for the main characters (normally the one I grew attached to), if there is any unanswered question (which is cliff hanger best known for) left I would feel the book is incomplete. And I just bought an incomplete stuff.. etc.

[niinasalmelin]

I think it depends greatly on the story. Junji Ito usually stops his horror short just when you think the shit will go down and while at times it can feel like a cop-out, sometimes it can fit to the mood and leave you wondering in a good way.

But outside mystery/thriller/horror genres I think it's harder to pull off. You half expect that short of stuff in those stories. Do you have someone that proofreads your comic before you post it? You could write down this twist ending and ask them how they feel. Could give you some idea on how to approach it.

[shazzbaa]

Because I don't want to end end it, I want to pick it up later on.

I paused my comic on a sort-of cliffhanger for 2 years while I went on indefinite hiatus. : > So. I see that as an option, personally.

I think, if you are just pausing the story, then it's up to you what point to pause on. If you are trying to make an ending that could be picked up from later, but could also serve as an ending, a cliffhanger is not an effective way to do that.

And open ending is pretty much what it says. It's not quite a cliffhanger because they normally don't happen abruptly in the middle of a scene, but it's where the conflicts and/or storylines aren't wrapped up entirely, allowing the reader to make their own interpretations of what happened to the characters within the story.

I drew for a script that had an ending like this once -- basically, the main characters were hunting down a killer for vengeance reasons, and the end of the story was when one of the main characters had to choose between catching the killer, or rescuing her friend, and she chose to give up her chance to catch the killer. The story ended with the two of them going back on the hunt. So it didn't resolve their goal to hunt down their target, but it did resolve that character's conflict about being consumed with her quest by deciding her friend was more important.
Some people were satisfied with the ending and some people weren't, but I think answering and resolving something is a big part of a good open ending. It shouldn't leave you asking "what's going to happen next?" instead it's a lingering "where will they go from here?"

[UzukiCheverie]

I think it depends greatly on the story. Junji Ito usually stops his horror short just when you think the shit will go down and while at times it can feel like a cop-out, sometimes it can fit to the mood and leave you wondering in a good way.

"The Enigma of Amigara Fault" is a perfect example of this method of storytelling by Junji Ito. It ends right at the climax, when we find out what exactly happens to the people that disappear into the mountain.... and the rest is up to our imaginations.

Another good example of a good cliffhanger ending? The ending of the game "Life is Strange", if you choose to save your friend, Chloe (sorry for any spoilers here, the game has been out for a while though). It's the sort of ending that makes you question the final decision you made in the game, and wonder, "Did I make the right choice? What's next for them?" But you're still satisfied because you obtained some sort of goal and solved some sort of conflict (in this case, rescuing Chloe).

A bad example? Just off the top of my head, at the end of the game Dying Light (I apologize for using game references and not comic/writing ones lol) your troop finds out there's a cure, or something, and they decide to go look for it. Aaaand that's it. No actual resolve, no finding out if they did find the cure, that's just it. It makes all the hours of work and gameplay leading up to it seem pointless (take what I say with grains of salt though, I haven't played the game, I'm going off what my bf has revealed to me about the ending).

For me, personally, if you're going to end a story with a cliffhanger, it shouldn't leave so many questions left unanswered that the readers feel robbed of the experience.

The ending I've got planned out for Time Gate can be considered a cliffhanger, but one of those cliffhangers that I'm HOPING the readers will be satisfied with. I want my readers to continue to theorize though - if there's nothing I love more than a good cliffhanger, it's leaving things to the collective mind of the readers to theorize upon and wonder about. When it ends, all of the major, important questions will be answered - and all that will be left is, "I wonder what's next for them?" But not a desperate enough plea that the readers will feel like they've been ripped off (again though, this is all hopefully - I'm gonna try my damn hardest lol)

If you've got the sort of cliffhanger ending that just subtly hints at there being something afterwards, but nothing so substantial that the readers will feel like you're copping out, I say go for it. But if you're ending it on a cliffhanger just for the sake of doing so and you haven't properly wrapped up the story and it just raises more questions that your readers now know aren't going to be answered, then I would refrain from it. It really depends on what your story is, how it plays out, and whether or not a cliffhanger would be the appropriate way to close the book.

[mariusthered]

make your last picture look like it's been put on pause (freeze frame) ! giving the indication your gonna be back

[acealmansoori]

@Aloredd YES! that's basically my cliffhanger, it's a big fight but nothing left unanswered. I left the rest for the readers ;A:

@scythe no as in is it better to add a cliffhanger to possibly add in later on, than just ending it (the arc). I can't seem to make up my mind, this is why I made this topic. The thing is the cliffhanger is at the end of the one shot comic. As in all what i've wrote and thought of. I think my readers will really hate the cliff hanger ;-;

@Nio_Kasgami Thats a really great way of putting it into perspective to me. I'm pretty indecisive, but I want to continue this manga/comic but its time consuming and soon i'll be busy for more than 2 years. So wanted to know if having a cliff hanger is better than ending it ;-;

@PurpleGround Exactly what i'm looking for is it fair to my readers to leave them hanging indefinitely?

@shazzbaa I see, how did you announce it? The cliffhanger I have is a bit like, this arc ends but the story doesn't. Sorta like this ;-; It's not a pause, more like a side story lol it's my first time comicing ;-;

@UzukiCheverie

For me, personally, if you're going to end a story with a cliffhanger, it shouldn't leave so many questions left unanswered that the readers feel robbed of the experience.

This is what worries me, although mostly everything is answered yet I have this feeling of incompletion. I want to end this part of the story, in hopes I can pick it up later on when I want to without ruining anything. I want to leave the readers with as much imaginative ending as possible.

@aronthemason Can you elaborate please? if you have any examples, please share them ;-;<3

[mariusthered]

just think about when you put a dvd on pause and do the same on the very last frame of the comic . it would be like a cliff hanger that's not a cliff hanger. the pause symbol is two rectangles in white so that with the word pause below would do the job.

[joannekwan]

Some cliff-hangers work, some don't. I'll give the examples that resonated with me.

A cliff-hanger that worked: Storm Hawks
Okay, so basically all you need to know about this series is it's a group of teens fighting against an evil villain. The main goal of the group is to save their world from the villain's clutches. It takes 60 episodes to lead up to the final fight, which lasts two episodes. At the end of the very last episode, their world is saved. However, the villain escapes to another dimension, and our group of heroes chase after her. See, this leaves it open for another season, but everything wrapped up well enough in this story arc to be satisfactory. Our heroes achieved their goal, they saved their home world. We don't need to see them hunt down the villain in the new dimension, it would be fun, but it's not necessary.

A cliff-hanger that didn't work: The original edition of Shaman King
In this series, special people called shamans from all over the world compete to become the next shaman king (or queen). We focus on a boy named Yoh and his eventual friends that are competing. Now the main villain in this is his evil twin brother, Hao, who wants the title and power to completely decimate the current world and rid it of humans to rebuild it for shamans specifically. It is up to Yoh and his friends to stop that from happening. They make their way through the tournament up to what would equate to semifinals, but it just ends there! You don't see if they get to stop Hao, or who even wins the title! It just stopped! There was no resolution in their goals. It was labeled as complete!
Thankfully the author did come up with an ending after several years and it was printed with a reprint of the original series.

So I think if you are going to leave your story before a big event, make sure that event is not crucial in deciding whether your characters have met their initial goals.

[Simon_M]

You don't owe nothing to the readers other than your imagination and art at the best of your abilities. If that means that there's a reason for a cliffhanger that may never see a follow-up, go for it. Of course, it should make some kind of sense, there should be thematic reasons for that, but that goes for any kind of scene, even a regular closure. An ending that is there "just because people expect closure" may not make some people as angry as with the other one, but it may be dull and mechanical and entirely forgettable.

[acealmansoori]

@aronthemason oh an actual pause symbol! That's a great idea ;w; thank you

@joannekwan oh hey there ;;w;/ Thank you so much for bringing both examples. Mine is slightly leans more towards the Storm Hawks example. I'm leaving it for debate a bit more, see other possibilities.

@Simon_M I hear ya, it's somewhat unsatisfactory of a cliffhanger. The arc ends there, but I want to leave a chance for a pickup later on.

[Shanny8]

If it's a one shot, why give it a cliffhanger ending? Cliffhanger endings usually are for stories you intend to do a next part to.

I guess for me it's all in the word used- one shot. For me a one shot story is gonna have a beginning & end and the creator has no intentions of making a sequel or next part.

Read this thread a little more, and I agree- an open ending would sound more like what you need. Maybe something along the lines of you wrapping up your initial story, and having the characters to decide to embark on another journey/mission/whatever, having the story to end right there. Ending the story at the start of a fight and leaving your readers hanging(especially if for years) could irritate them into not wanting to [continue] read your future works

[acealmansoori]

Thank you @Shanny8 for you reply, I do want to continue it, and thanks to all the comments I think I know what I'm going to do ;w;<3